Author: Miguel Douglas

As an avid viewer of both Japanese animation and cinema for more than a decade now, Miguel is primarily concerned with establishing a critical look into both mediums as legitimate forms of artistic, cultural, and societal understanding. Never one to simply look at a film or series based solely on superficiality, Miguel has dedicated himself towards bringing awareness to Asian entertainment and its various facets.

Latest Additions

Showa Fujishima is a former detective. One day, his daughter Kanako, who is a model student, disappears. To find his daughter, he investigates more carefully into his daughter’s life. He then becomes involved in a shocking situation.

Kuklo was found as a baby crying in a mass of Titan vomit, amidst the dead titan corpses. He is essentially hated by the people inside the walls. Kuklo, despite his horrible beginnings and a single-functioning eye, also seems to grow unnaturally fast. He parts himself from his past and gambles on the fate of humanity by enlisting in the Survey Corps.

In 1972, an ancient alien hypergate was discovered on the surface of the moon. Using this technology, humanity began migrating to Mars and settling there. After settlers discovered additional advanced technology, the Vers Empire was founded, which claimed Mars and its secrets for themselves. Later, the Vers Empire declared war on Earth, and in 1999, a battle on the Moon’s surface caused the hypergate to explode, shattering the Moon and scattering remnants into a debris belt around the planet.

Comments

Thanks for the comment Andre. There is currently no specific release date as of yet, but FUNimation has confirmed that they have the rights to the film and will release it in 2011.

http://animeenglishdubreviews.blogspot.com/ Jon Turner

I’ve been pretty iffy about [i]Evangelion[/i] as a work, particularly in the portrayals of its emotionally unstable characters and the unsatisfying conclusion (I was disappointed with both the final two episodes AND on EoE), but I will admit I DID like EVA 1.0 better than I expected to, and this looks pretty promising. I especially like that Asuka’s personality is toned down; since she was my least favorite character in the show (due to her constant grouchiness), it’s at least nice to see that she is more sympathetic this time around. I guess Anno was much more stable when he did these sequels, huh?

http://www.thevelvetview.com Alvaro

Great review Miguel. Definitely the most in depth review of this great film out there. Love your website as well, its a true discovery. Will be definitely following it from now on. Keep up the great work.

Btw, which modern anime series and feature films would you recommend? Just wondering. Thanks again for that great review!

Alvaro

Miguel Douglas

Thanks for the comments Jon. Shinji, Asuka, and Rei have all been altered to a great degree which makes for a more likable casting (which is not to say the original series character portrayal was bad, but it definitely alienated a lot of people from liking the series). A lot of the semi-confusing elements have been removed as well in order to present a more streamlined version of the series, but it still retains the depth that was found within the original.

http://animeenglishdubreviews.blogspot.com/ Jon Turner

That was one of my biggest problems with EVANGELION; I just felt that all three were rather alienating in their personalities. Thank goodness this new version portrays them as something more stable.

Less confusing than the series? Now THAT should be something to see. I can only hope the next two movies will at least remain consistent and not get even more baffling.

Miguel Douglas

Thanks for the comments Alvaro. I do have a few recommendations regarding anime films and series:

Yeah Jon, I lot of people I know had that same response towards the series as well. I believe that the new film series is attempting to address that dilemma, which is something even I would conclude as being a positive direction. It really boils down to whether the rest of the film series can hold itself together and not fall into what the original series already accomplished.

Daniel

Nice review! Only that every time the mispronunciation of “EvanGelion” (yes, in the ) made my ears bleed :p . I actually can’t wait for the third part!!!

Miguel Douglas

Thanks for the comment Daniel. One thing I wanted to point out though is that I did in fact pronounce “Evangelion” correctly.

Daniel

True, my bad; it’s pronounced with a “G” as in “good”, not as in “evanGelical”.

Great review, and good comparison of the new films to the original. I normally think of continually reboots and sp. ed’s as a money grab, but in this case, I’m really excited about the direction they’ve taken the series. It’s like the filmmaker’s have matured somewhat and looked at what they did with new eyes. Anyway you’ve made me a fan of your reviews and I’m looking forward to seeing more of them.

Miguel Douglas

@ James: I agree – Rebuild of Evangelion is an exceptionally well done retelling of the original series, and judging from what we’ve seen so far from the film series, it’s looking to be quite entertaining as it is interesting! Thanks for the comments on my review as well – look out for more in the future!